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Westwood Mechanic, 31, Charged With 2007 Child Sex Assaults Westwood Mechanic, 31, Charged With 2007 Child Sex Assaults
Westwood Mechanic, 31, Charged With 2007 Child Sex Assaults A 31-year-old mechanic from Westwood was in his early teens when he sexually assaulted a much younger child, authorities charged. Nicholas Cavaniola is accused of sexually assaulting a pre-teen at least four years younger than him in Westwood twice in April 2007, according to Bergen County Jail records. There's no statute of limitations for criminal sexual assault cases in New Jersey. Prosecutors can bring a one at any point in time. Cavaniola was arrested in Hillsdale on Feb. 28 following an investigation begun by Westwood police and continued by members of Bergen County Prosecutor Mark M…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah Man Charged With Physically Abusing Pre-Teen Mahwah Man Charged With Physically Abusing Pre-Teen
Mahwah Man Charged With Physically Abusing Pre-Teen A medical assistant who lives in Mahwah was jailed after authorities said he physically abused a preteen. Martino Desir, 37, was arrested on Monday, March 4, following a call from the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency that he “physically abused a child under the age of 13,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The prosecutor didn’t elaborate. Desir was charged with child endangerment and sent to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained on Tuesday pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack. Desir -- who's listed in jail records as …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Scammer Jailed After Collecting $27,000 For Car He Never Delivered: Wayne PD Scammer Jailed After Collecting $27,000 For Car He Never Delivered: Wayne PD
Scammer Jailed After Collecting $27,000 For Car He Never Delivered: Wayne PD A notorious scammer pocketed $27,900 for a car he didn’t deliver, then bounced a refund check after a Wayne detective got involved, authorities said. Anthony Antoniello, 38, of Totowa essentially gave Detective Michael Polifrone no choice but to charge him after offering a series of empty excuses, Detective Capt. Dan Daly said. Polifrone also discovered similar cases against Antoniello. Antoniello agreed both to refund the money and surrender to police to be processed on theft charges, the captain said. When he didn’t show, members of the Wayne Police Enforcement Unit went out and arreste…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Stock Clerk Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Teen In Elmwood Park Stock Clerk Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Teen In Elmwood Park
Stock Clerk Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Teen In Elmwood Park A stock clerk already awaiting trial on an aggravated assault charge out of Passaic County was arrested by detectives who said he sexually assaulted an underage juvenile multiple times in Elmwood Park. Jaden Vargas, 21, of Paterson allegedly victimized someone who Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said was between 13 and 16 years old at the time. Musella didn't specify a time period and said only that the alleged incidents occurred "in the past." Vargas was arrested in Elmwood Park last Friday, March 1, following a two-week investigation and has remained held in the Bergen Co…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Man Stabbed In Neck At Popular Middle Eastern Restaurant, Elmwood Park Man Charged Paterson Man Stabbed In Neck At Popular Middle Eastern Restaurant, Elmwood Park Man Charged
Paterson Man Stabbed In Neck At Popular Middle Eastern Restaurant, Elmwood Park Man Charged A man whose family came to the U.S. from Iraq was charged with attempted murder after authorities said he stabbed another man in the neck either in or outside a popular Middle Eastern restaurant in Paterson. Anmar Oudah, 35, of Elmwood Park stabbed the 30-year-old victim during what witnesses told police was a fight at Al-Mazaq Restaurant and Bakery on East Railway Avenue shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday, March 3. The victim was last reported in critical condition at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer in Char…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Resident Charged With Attempted Murder In Wounding Of Two In Streetcorner Shooting Paterson Resident Charged With Attempted Murder In Wounding Of Two In Streetcorner Shooting
Paterson Resident Charged With Attempted Murder In Wounding Of Two In Streetcorner Shooting A Paterson resident was charged with attempted murder this week after shooting two men on a city street corner in late January, authorities announced. It was around 12:45 a.m. Jan. 29 when Miguel de la Cruz, 26, opened fire at the intersection of East Main Street and Hillman Avenue, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In- Charge Isa Abbassi said in a joint statement. Both victims – one 18, the other 30 – were taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and survived their wounds, authorities said. de la Cruz surrendered to police this past …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
One Ulta Thief Barricades Himself In Local Home, Another Strikes 3X In 10 Days: Maywood PD One Ulta Thief Barricades Himself In Local Home, Another Strikes 3X In 10 Days: Maywood PD
One Ulta Thief Barricades Himself In Local Home, Another Strikes 3X In 10 Days: Maywood PD Maywood police captured a repeat offender from Lyndhurst who’d barricaded himself in the basement of a local resident’s home after shoplifting from the Ulta store at the Bergen Town Center, authorities said. The arrest of Brendan Hunt, 46, comes amid an escalating epidemic of thefts from Ulta stores nationwide – including in Paramus, Montvale and throughout New Jersey. Hunt bolted out an emergency exit with a shopping basket full of stolen fragrances shortly after 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, Maywood Detective Sgt. William Phayre said Friday. Officer Alana Luna spotted Hunt running south …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paramus Detectives Nab Thief Accused Of Burglarizing Local Home, Stealing BMW, Eluding Pursuit Paramus Detectives Nab Thief Accused Of Burglarizing Local Home, Stealing BMW, Eluding Pursuit
Paramus Detectives Nab Thief Accused Of Burglarizing Local Home, Stealing BMW, Eluding Pursuit Paramus police detectives identified and arrested an Irvington resident who they said stole a brand new BMW during a burglary and forced a uniformed officer to terminate a pursuit out of safety concerns. Kasieum Frye, 21, and an accomplice broke into an Oakwood Drive home and snatched the key fob for the 2024 X6 shortly before 4:30 a.m. late last September, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. A neighbor alerted police, who found sliding glass doors to the kitchen pried open, the chief said on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Officer Matthew Mulick pursued the SUV on Farview Avenue until high spe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Accused Dealer Charged With Fentanyl-Laced Crack Death Of Jersey City Man At Lyndhurst Hotel Accused Dealer Charged With Fentanyl-Laced Crack Death Of Jersey City Man At Lyndhurst Hotel
Accused Dealer Charged With Fentanyl-Laced Crack Death Of Jersey City Man At Lyndhurst Hotel An accused drug dealer from Bloomfield provided the drugs that killed a user from Jersey City at a Lyndhurst motel, authorities charged. Alberto Delgado, 43, was accused of selling the fentanyl-laced crack that killed 54-year-old Luke Revell after he smoked it at the Winslow Motor Hotel just off eastbound Route 3. Delgado had more than a pound and a half of the drugs in a storage unit when detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office searched it, according to a complaint on file in Superior Court in Hackensack. They also learned that Delgado had communicated with Revell by ce…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Arrest Made By Fairview PD After Facebook 'Buyer' Snatches $5,700 Gold Chain, Gun From Seller Arrest Made By Fairview PD After Facebook 'Buyer' Snatches $5,700 Gold Chain, Gun From Seller
Arrest Made By Fairview PD After Facebook 'Buyer' Snatches $5,700 Gold Chain, Gun From Seller Fairview police arrested a Newark man who they said threatened to shoot a local resident with his own gun during what the victim thought would be the sale of a $5,700 gold chain on Facebook Marketplace. The 44-year-old victim told police he was contacted by an “Alvaro Robles” after posting the 14k gold Cuban chain for sale last October, Capt. Michael Martic said. He gave the caller his address, the captain said, and a short time later a heavily tinted Mazda CX-5 pulled up to the 6th Street residence. The victim told police he sat down in a backyard chair and placed a 9mm Ruger behind him a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Convicted Stalker Goes After NJ Police Chief Yet Again UPDATE: Convicted Stalker Goes After NJ Police Chief Yet Again
Update: Convicted Stalker Goes After NJ Police Chief Yet Again A convicted stalker who authorities said won't stop harassing Hillsdale Police Chief Sean Smith is back behind bars – only this time it might be for awhile. Patrick McMeekin, 56, of Newark spent a combined 20 months in the Bergen County Jail before and after he was convicted of a stalking campaign several years ago. He finished out a six-month state prison stretch last June, records show. SEE: Convicted Stalker Targets Same Bergen Victim With Emails To Schools, Towns, Others Soon after he was released he was once again sending slanderous emails to a host of people accusing Hillsdale …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SHOCKER: NJ Teacher Had Sex With Student Starting At 15 In School, Car, House: Authorities SHOCKER: NJ Teacher Had Sex With Student Starting At 15 In School, Car, House: Authorities
Shocker: NJ Teacher Had Sex With Student Starting At 15 In School, Car, House: Authorities A married teacher had intercourse as part of a years-long sexual relationship with a former Garfield Middle School student beginning when the youngster was 15, including several times in a car -- and even at the school, authorities charged. Amy Impero D'Ovidio, a 46-year-old Bergen County native, had worked for the Garfield Board of Education when the alleged encounters began, they said. She was 35 at the time. Locations included “within the Garfield Middle School, at a private residence in Cedar Grove, as well as within a vehicle at unknown locations in Bergen, Essex, and Passaic counties…

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by Jerry DeMarco